Nepal: Playing cricket on the Tundikhel, Kathmandu (1996)

The Tundikhel is a grass-covered parade ground, about half a kilometre long and a quarter kilometre wide. The area was given its present form by commander-in-chief Bhimsen Thapa (1775-1839). According to the Nepalese chronicles, though, a young boy by the name of Kesh-Chandra Malla, the son of a nobleman, had laid out an open space at the site as far back as the 12th century. The money for it allegedly came from some maggots which were lodged in grain and which miraculously transformed into gold. The tale continues with Kesh-Chandra Malla giving the Tundikhel to the ogre Guru Mapa (a form of Bhairav) under the stipulation that he would not devour anyone and that no three bricks should ever stand on top of each other on the grounds.